Wall hydrants generally comprise a support plate with interconnected faucet, a means to control fluid flow through the faucet, a fluid supply tube, a valve, and a tube that contains a mechanism operates the valve. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the fluid supply tube can also include the means to control the fluid flow.
Protective enclosures that conceal and protect hydrants are common and often incorporated into interior or exterior building walls. Enclosures are generally comprised of a box with an interconnected door. The enclosure prevents operation of the faucet, prevents theft of hydrant components (e.g., brass), protects the hydrant from environmental elements, and provides a means to incorporate the hydrant into a wall.
The enclosure door may be selectively locked. Enclosures are made in various sizes and shapes and may accommodate a single or dual hydrant. Existing enclosures are rigidly mounted to a wall and are difficult to replace. That is, if an enclosure is in need of repair, the hydrant must be disconnected, the hydrant removed, and the box must be removed from the wall. One of skill the art will appreciate that this method of repair is inefficient as, often, only the door is damaged. For example, keys that are used to open door locks are often lost, and maintenance personnel often pry the door open, which damages the door. Thereafter, the door must be replaced to ensure that the door can be locked or closed properly.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 a wall hydrant 2 and associated enclosure 66 of the prior art is shown. The hydrant 2 comprises a plate 10 that accommodates a fluid outlet and has a plurality of tube bosses extending therefrom. A control tube boss 18 receives a control tube 22, and a fluid tube boss 26 receives a fluid supply tube 30. The fluid supply tube and the control tube are connected to their respective bosses and to a valve 34. An outside surface of the plate 10 includes an aperture 42 that received a key 46 that is selectively interconnected to a stem screw 50. The key controls the flow of water by way of a control rod 54. Again, the outside surface of the plate 10 includes a fluid outlet that may be interconnected to backflow preventer 58. A backflow preventer used by some embodiments is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,042,565, which is incorporated by reference herein.
In operation, the user interconnects the key 46 to the stem screw 50. The stem screw 50 is operatively interconnected to the control rod 54. Turning the key 46 moves the control rod 54 and moves the plunger 62 away from a valve 34 to allow fluid flow through the fluid supply tube 30 as shown in FIG. 2. When the key 46 is turned in the opposite direction, the control rod will move the plunger 62 into engagement with the valve 34 as shown in FIG. 3, which prevents fluid flow through the fluid supply tube 30.
The enclosure 66 that receives the wall hydrant is shown in FIGS. 4-6. The enclosure 66 comprises a box 70 and a door 74. The box 70 has sufficient depth to receive a plate 10 and interconnected backflow preventer 58. The key 46 may also be left interconnected to the stem screw 50 in some instances. The depth of the box 70 allows for the door 74 to be closed to conceal the entire wall hydrant 2 and included backflow preventer 58. The plate is bolted or otherwise interconnected to a rear surface of the box.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate enclosures are difficult to install, are heavy, and sometimes, difficult to use. More specifically, as the plate 10 and associated backflow preventer 58 are inset relative to a front edge 78 of the box 70, it is often difficult for users to engage the key 46, or turn a knob, to initiate fluid flow. Further, if the door 74 is damaged, the entire enclosure 66 must be removed.
It is thus a long felt need to provide a hydrant enclosure that is easy to install, easy to use, that accepts various types of fluid connections, and has a replaceable door. These and other features, alone or in combination, are provided by the embodiments the present invention, which will be described below.